LOS ANGELES (Ticker) -- Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal showed
Allen Iverson he has a long way to go.

Bryant and O'Neal carried the Los Angeles Lakers to a 96-85
victory over Iverson and the Philadelphia 76ers, who are finding
out that the Western Conference is much stronger than the East.

"The 1-2 punch did pretty well," O'Neal said.

Bryant scored 16 of his 36 points in the fourth quarter, when
the Lakers turned back a rally by the 76ers and won for the 11th
time in 13 games. He made 15-of-28 shots, many of them in
spectacular fashion.

It marked the ninth time in 10 games Bryant has led the Lakers
in scoring. The 6-6 All-Star guard is leading the NBA with an
average of 28.8 points per game.

O'Neal, who led the league in scoring last season, was his usual
unstoppable self. The 7-2 superstar wore down a series of
overmatched defenders, collecting 27 points, 20 rebounds, seven
blocks and six assists. The rebounds and blocks were season
highs.

The 76ers were without injured 7-footer Matt Geiger and really
had no answer for O'Neal. They used NBA blocks leader Theo
Ratliff, Tyrone Hill and reserve big men Nazr Mohammed and Todd
MacCulloch without much success.

"You can't stop him," Larry Brown said. "We tried to make him
score the ball over us instead of getting dunks but he did that.
He was a factor on defense as well."

"It was like David vs. Goliath," MacCulloch said. "He's the
biggest human you have ever seen. If he's Superman, then I am
Wonderboy."

Iverson could not get loose either, making just 9-of-27 shots.
He scored 27 points but could not effectively get to the basket
as Bryant shadowed him outside and O'Neal smothered him inside.

"We let him get some easy looks at the basket and that upset me
personally," Bryant said. "Usually I can body people and get
away with it. You have to play a different style with Allen.
You can't put your forearm on him. He's so light it's going to
be a foul."

"I struggled early in the game and it continued on," Iverson
said. "I kind of let the referees get me out of the game and
let them frustrate me. I wasn't getting some of the calls I
deserve."

This season, Philadelphia bolted to a 10-0 start and came in
with a league-best 14-3 mark. However, most of that was built
against the Eastern Conference, which is decidedly weaker than
the West.

"They are the better team," Sixers forward George Lynch said.
"They are the defending champions. They got everybody healthy
and they are playing well."

The Sixers have lost consecutive games for the first time this
season, falling to Denver and LA. By contrast, the Lakers have
won eight straight and 17 of their last 18 against Eastern foes.

"You get a chance to see how good your team is when you play
against a tougher team," Iverson said. "We just lost to a West
Coast team and we come here and lose another."

"They were phenomenal when it mattered most," Brown said. "Kobe
and Shaq did an unbelievable job of executing. We played our
best and we lost to a team that was terrific."

Bryant's 3-pointer made it 67-60 early in the fourth quarter
before the Sixers began their final surge. Aaron McKie, who
scored 21 points, made a 3-pointer and Iverson sank a jumper to
cut the deficit to two points with 9:24 to play.

O'Neal and MacCulloch traded baskets before O'Neal powered over
Ratliff for a three-point play. He blocked MacCulloch's shot
and took a feed from Bryant for a layup and a 74-67 lead with
7:01 remaining.

Two jumpers by Bryant pushed the lead to 80-72 with 4:16 to go.
He soared for a high alley-oop pass and hammered it home with a
foul, bringing the Staples Center sellout crowd of 18,997 to its
feet. The three-point play sealed it at 89-78 with 1:24 left.

Brian Shaw scored a season-high 13 points and Horace Grant added
11 and 11 rebounds for the Lakers, who shot 43.5 percent
(37-of-85). O'Neal missed his first seven shots and was just
11-of-28 from the field.

The rugged Lynch had 12 points and seven rebounds for the
Sixers, who shot 40 percent (35-of-87). However, Ratliff, Hill,
MacCulloch and Mohammed combined for just 19 points and 18
rebounds.

O'Neal's slow start enabled Philadelphia to open a five-point
lead early in the second quarter. Los Angeles closed the first
half with an 11-2 burst capped by O'Neal's dunk in the final
second, opening a 43-38 lead.

O'Neal was overpowering in the third quarter with nine points
and five rebounds. The Lakers led by as many as 11 points
before McKie rallied the Sixers within 64-57 entering the final
period.